Jonathan Bernier’s trade request not in his best interest

Kings goaltender Jonathan Bernier's NHL trade request not in his best interest

Jonathan Bernier severely hampered his already less-than-spectacular trade value when the young L.A. Kings goaltender’s trade request was made public. And for more than just the obvious reasons.

Not only has it been announced to one and all that he wants to leave, he’s also cast some aspersions on his own character by wanting to depart a championship team immediately after its success, because he can’t see himself playing enough behind Jonathan Quick.

It indicates he has no sense of patience or development. It indicates he wants to rush himself into a starting position, apparently forgetting that goaltenders now can play into their 40s if they keep themselves in great physical condition.

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And it indicates he’s learned nothing from the Cory Schneider example in Vancouver, where that young guy started out behind the invincible Roberto Luongo and was brought along in such a patient way that he’s now ready to assume the starting position.

Anyone thinking about taking Bernier will have to consider all these negatives before making their decision — that’s if the Kings decide to grant his request, and they’ve already demonstrated they’re not overly amused at the prospect.

If they move him they have to find an experienced backup to Quick because they have nobody else ready for that role.

As well, Kings general manager Dean Lombardi may well have learned from Vancouver’s Schneider experience. GM Mike Gillis was flooded with calls from teams interested in picking up Schneider in a trade, proof that bringing along your young goalies slowly is the best way to raise their value.

You could certainly see why they’d tell Bernier: “Relax and be patient, because you’re not going anywhere.”

That would definitely be their first choice. And they would almost certainly be doing the kid a favour by doing so, assuming they want to keep Quick fresh and can give Bernier 25 games this season, assuming a full campaign, which is a stretch at this point because of labour negotiations.

But even if all of this is true, they may decide to act just so as not to have an unhappy camper aboard to start the defence of their title. And if they do, he is likely to affect the market for Luongo, even though we’re talking proven apples and untried oranges.

Take the behaviour of the very well respected GM in Tampa, Steve Yzerman. When he opted to address his goaltending situation with Anders Lindback from Nashville, he essentially stated the way to go in this department was younger, riskier and cheaper rather than older, proven and expensive. Even though nobody has a clue yet as to whether this is the right direction, his opinion likely carries some clout — which may be one explanation as to why Luongo is still on the Vancouver roster.

Now, it’s highly unlikely that the Florida Panthers will go this route when they already have an excellent young goaltending prospect in Jacob Markstrom, but you can certainly see the Maple Leafs opting for this plan, as it’s always seemingly been GM Brian Burke’s preferred direction dating back to the Dan Cloutier acquisition in Vancouver. Burke hasn’t had much luck with young goalies and he won his Cup with an older, proven J.S. Giguère who was already in Anaheim when he arrived, but that hasn’t stopped him from seeking out a young star to solve the problems once and for all.

And it’s not clear in which direction Chicago would lean, although it was interesting to hear Jonathan Toews essentially giving the club his blessing for the acquisition of Luongo if a deal could be worked out. That, of course, would be highly risky for Vancouver — to load up the Hawks with a goalie of this quality — but then it’s a high-risk business. If you get something significant in return, that risk might well be worth taking if it’s going to give you a better chance of beating the other 13 teams in the Western Conference.

And there’s no rush here. Given the season may not start until late November with the history of these two sides trying to agree to a new CBA, this whole process is likely to develop as a goalie’s career should: slowly.